Legendary Warrior
by Haigure
Summary: A princess is always protected and never fights in battle, yet Sailor Moon was pushed to become a senshi. She was able to survive and overcome many challenges, but what will she do in front of an invincible enemy she has no chance of beating? A new team of warriors make their appearance, finally relieving the princess of the heavy burden of being a soldier.
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

The sound of frantic fast footsteps in a dark abandoned area of the city. The bright full moon is slowly being covered by dark clouds. Heavy panting fills the air. It slowly changes into sharp gasps, but they don't stop. Just like the footsteps don't stop. A gunshot. It misses its intended target as it hits the ground. The steps can still be heard. "Don't think you can get away!" A male's voice yells. It was muffled, from behind a helmet. He wore heavy-duty gear and was holding one of the many weapons he had strapped: a military-grade handgun.

Who on Earth were they chasing? A wanted murderer? The top guy of some type of crime syndicate? Or maybe a war criminal?

The dark clouds moved and cleared revealing the fugitive. An unusually tall, slender figure wearing a white long-sleeve shirt paired with black skintight jeans. Her black high heel ankle boots clicked with every step she took, revealing her position with every move. The hoodie of her steel-blue sleeveless top she wore on top bounced up and down together with the silver pendant she wore around her neck.

She had pale skin that seemed to glow white under the light of the full moon. Her eyes had the color of the clear sky on a winter morning. Her hair was even whiter than her skin and whiter than the moon in the night sky. She donned a neat short haircut. Small silver earrings shaped in crescent moons glistened whenever the moonlight hit them. She looked like she was in her twenties or probably even younger...

She stood out and that didn't help her to get away from whoever was chasing her. Another gunshot. She rolled to the side quickly, hiding behind a large trash container at the side of an abandoned building. And another gunshot. She was trapped, if she tried to move out of that cover she would get hit in no time, while the one chasing her was able to close in onto her position as long as she stayed in that cover. It seemed that her chaser came to the same conclusion, even without seeing her. So he took his sweet time to get to her.

She frantically looked around to find a way to get away from that man. She finally noticed that there was an opening between the two buildings. It probably was a small alley. She would have to go out of cover and be in range for a while to get there, but if she rolled the last bit she might not get hit.

She decided to take the bet. It was better than waiting until he caught up on her. The gunshots wouldn't stop, but she stayed close to the wall crouching, while moving away from the container, getting closer to the alley. She tried to make as little noise as possible, but luckily for her, her chaser was making plenty of noise by shooting at her. At some point she stopped, knowing that if she took another step she'd be in plain sight. She was stuck for now. He fired another shot... How many shots did he fire? It took a while for the white-haired girl to realize it, but when she heard the sound of metal hitting the floor, she knew the man was reloading his gun. That was her chance! She took it and disappeared into the alley.

"Hey!" she heard the voice yell. He started running after her after having inserted the new ammo.

The white-haired girl didn't look back, but when she turned around the corner, her eyes widened. She stopped and stared at a wall in disbelief. A dead-end! She frantically looked around her. Was there no way out? Anything was fine!

That's when she noticed a ladder. It was folded up and connected to a metal staircase which led to an emergency exit of a seemingly abandoned building. It was too high to reach but a smile appeared on her face nonetheless. She ran up to the ladder that was at least 3 meters above the ground. She ran towards the wall in full speed and used the wall to gain more height, by jumping up the wall a little. She stretched out her hand and reached out at the lowest bar and it seemed like she was going to miss, but she didn't. She caught it.

The unknown armed chaser finally caught up and saw her scramble up the ladder. He started shooting but the distance was too big and too many objects stood in between him and his target to hit. Not slowing down, she continued climbing until she reached the stairs. When the chaser saw that he didn't lose any time by shooting at her and made sure to get onto the same stairs as well. Fortunately for the girl the man was not as tall as her and he was slightly heavier than her, because of his armor. He didn't get on it the first time. Nor did he the second time.

By the time he got on it, she already reached the emergency exit. Of course it was locked. She had to find a way to break it open. She tried doing that by running into it with her shoulder a few times but it didn't work. After the third time it still didn't budge. Now the despair was kicking in. The guard had gotten onto the ladder and was quickly catching up. She clenched her teeth in frustration and desperation. She ran into the door again, trying to break it open but it still didn't budge. Her heartbeat shot up as she heard his footsteps on the metal staircase.

"OPEN UP DAMN IT!" she yelled as she did a round-house kick on the door. It finally flew open. She didn't waste any time and ran inside, looking for the way down the stairs. She was making her way to the lowest level to try and leave from the front door, since that man had already wasted his time to get up the emergency ladder. She figured she could gain enough time to disappear and shake him off. She was betting everything on the front door being open or at least fragile, because it was a building scheduled for abolition.

For a long time, it was only her pair of footsteps that echoed throughout the staircase, but then she heard heavy footsteps. She now started skipping stairs and jumping down when close to the end of the stairs. She finally reached the lowest level and made a run for the door that was between her and the main door. She bumped it open with her shoulder. She ran through it and then halted. It was dark but her eyes were accustomed to the dark by now.

Feelings of despair overcame her. She looked around her in pure despair. Front, right, left, behind. There was no door or window. This looked like a warehouse. The thing standing in her way to freedom was one large metal shutter...

She stared at the shutter for a while before she turned around clenching her teeth again. She was going a level up to see if there were windows so she could jump out of it. Jumping from the first floor wouldn't be as bad as being shot by an unknown chaser.

She stopped in her tracks yet again. Then, she walked back a few steps. He had caught up... She was staring at her chaser holding a gun, pointing it at her. She heard a muffled chuckle. "I guess this is as far as you go." the man said. The girl clenched her teeth yet again and took another step back. "Why are you doing this..? What do you want from me?" she asked, her voice shaking. The unknown chaser laughed eerily "There's no need for you to know..." he paused for a while. "… since you're going to die soon…" The girl took another step back. He shoots. The girl lets out a groan. The bullet grazed her thigh. She kneels down and presses her hand against the wound.

The man laughs again and is now standing only one meter away from her. He aims right at the girl's forehead. It's only a matter of time before he pulls the trigger and takes her life. "If you want to blame something, blame your destiny." he just eerily comments. At the click of the removal of the security on the gun the girl's eyes widen so much it looks like her eyeballs are about to pop out of their sockets. "Farewell... Subject MS-01." She shuts her eyes tightly, not able to face the moment he pulls the trigger.

A gunshot... and then silence. No footsteps, no breathing, no thud of the corpse hitting the cold floor. Nothing. Just silence. What had happened?

Then a light shone through the high windows of this warehouse. The white-haired girl was still sitting in the same spot. The military man was still aiming his gun at the girl in front of him. Yet, out of nowhere... A third figure had appeared in between them. A man wearing a black long trench coat and black leather pants which were tucked in boots decorated with straps. He had long silky black hair. His skin was white, but not as white as the girl's. His eyes shone silver as he stared the girl down.

She looked up to his gray eyes in shock. Who was this man..? And why was he not hurt? Why wasn't anyone hurt? The military man definitely pulled the trigger, so why..? And what was that strange mark on his forehead? A silver crescent moon decorated his forehead.

The girl mustered all her courage to voice at least one of her questions: "Wh-" but she got cut off immediately. "Do you want to be saved..?" the man suddenly asked. The girl frowned in confusion, but said nothing for a while, thinking of how to react. She stared into his gray eyes trying to look for some information. They just stared back at her coldly, no emotion, no friendliness.

The man chasing the girl wouldn't stay silent of course, so when he got over his initial shock he yelled: "Get out of the way or you're going down with her." The tall man ignored him. "HEY!" the military man yelled, obviously losing his patience. He poked the man's back with his gun. It didn't faze the black-haired man at all, however. In shock, the girl looked from the man in front of her to her chaser and back. What was going on here? If he didn't move he would die!

"Don't make me repeat myself..." the strange black-haired man said coldly. "Do you want to be saved..?" he asked again with a tone demanding an answer. The girl's shock dissolved into a nervous serious expression. A single drop of cold sweat ran down her cheek. "What will happen if you save me..?" she asked, somehow having the feeling that being saved by this man wouldn't come without cost. He just continued to stare at her and the knot that the girl was feeling in her stomach continued to tighten. She had a bad feeling about this.

When the man finally opened his mouth to answer, the content of his words made the girl swallow her own spit in an attempt to moisten her dried out throat. Like an echo these following words repeated in the girl's mind: "If I save you, you will have to do as I say..."


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

I slowly limp into the room, being supported by the black-haired man. We walk up to my couch and he gently places me unto it. I look at his face and cannot help but notice how good-looking he is. I started to wonder how old he must be.

He had already done first aid on my grazed thigh before making our way to this apartment, so he came to sit next to me. A silence settled between us.

What a weird situation this was. One moment I am being chased by a guy dressed in military-grade gear for reasons I didn't know. The next I am being saved by this guy with long black hair. The thing that made me most nervous were his words: 'if you want me to save you, you will have to do as I say...' is what he said. I was expecting the worst at this point.

Especially since I saw how any bullets the military guy shot at him, hit him and didn't even faze him! I stole a glance at one of the bullets before leaving the abandoned warehouse and they looked so mushed as if they had hit something incredibly robust and hard... Yet they had hit this man's back... A cold shiver ran down my spine. This individual was no regular man. He had knocked out the man protected by a bullet-proof vest without even touching him. He stretched out his hand and the man flew right into the wall behind him.

I avoided the man's eye contact and just stared at the floor, my heart beating so quick I was afraid it would stop at some point. I had trouble controlling my breathing. The man stared at me at some point and I stiffened up even more.

He had a troubled face for a moment and ran a hand through his silky black hair before letting out a sigh. "You don't have to be that afraid, it's not like I'm going to eat you." he said calmly. I didn't know how to reply to that so I continued to avoid eye-contact with him. I heard another sigh coming from him. That's when I felt cold fingers touching my chin.

My eyes widened. 'Is this what he meant by saying I would have to do whatever he said?!' I thought in shock. He turned my chin to make me face him. He glared at me in annoyance. "I told you I wouldn't eat you, so calm down... We can't have a conversation if you're this tense." he said, staring straight into my eyes. I averted my eyes feeling more uncomfortable than before. He then let go of my chin with another sigh. He stood up and walked away from the couch to stand at the window to look outside wordlessly. In wonder I followed his movement, but it helped. I calmed down and leaned more into my couch.

He was right, I was too tense. I had lots of questions I wanted to ask him and despite the fact that he had nonhuman super powers and that he was highly suspicious, he did save my life from an unknown enemy. I had to thank him at least for that. "Th-thanks.. for saving me." I said, stuttering a little. This was unlike me, I usually was level-headed and calm. This situation was different though, he definitely had the power to hurt or kill me, I could not get my act together until I knew this man could be trusted.

"I told you, in exchange for saving you, you would have to do whatever I tell you." an eerie grin appeared on his face, but I couldn't see it. "I think it is too early to be thanking me..." he calmly said. I almost didn't dare ask, but I had to know: "So what is it you want from me..?" I hesitantly asked.

He continued to look out the window at the countless lights of the city down below. Awaiting an answer, I looked at his back, trying to stay awake. Just what in the world was he going to ask of me? Rather, what is it a girl like me could do for him anyway? He seemed strong enough to take on any enemy, so I am sure that was not what he needed me for... So was it really..? Was it my body he wanted..?

After a long silence he finally answered: "What I need is your time, effort and commitment..." It was as cryptic as ever. I heard him continue talking after that, probably elaborating on his first comment, but somehow I stopped registering the sounds as words and I felt my consciousness slowly but surely drifting away…

–

The sharp ringing of an alarm woke me up. I reached out my hand to turn it off as I was used to doing before. I was able to hit the stop button right away. I continued lying on my side and slid my hand back under the blanket... Wait..? A blanket? I opened my eyes and sat up. A blanket covered me. I then looked around and found out that I was in a bed. Not just any bed. My own bed in my own room.

I then thought about the chase and the mysterious man with the long black hair. Was that all a dream..? I stared in front of me deep in thought, looking for hints of it being real, but I couldn't find any. I finally decided to get up from bed and get ready for my first day of school. When I moved my right leg I felt a sharp pain. I removed the blanket and finally remembered. I looked at where the bullet grazed my leg. The spot was wrapped in bandages. So it was real!

So then... Where was that man..? I got up and looked around my room but found no trace of the man. I guess even he wouldn't try to squeeze himself next to me. I then stopped in my tracks. "Why was I in my bed in the first place...?" I then asked myself out loud. I then noticed that I wasn't wearing the clothes I was wearing yesterday... Rather. I wasn't wearing all of the clothes. I stood there in my long-sleeved white t-shirt and my panties.

Angry and embarrassed I looked down on myself and thought back at the man. "That pervert..." I grumbled as I walked to my closet to fetch at least a pair of sweatpants. In case the guy was sleeping on the couch or something. I wouldn't want him to see me partly naked for a second time.

I walked into my living room and looked around but saw no one. I walked towards the open kitchen to fix myself breakfast before I'd take a shower, but then I tripped over something and fell face-flat on the floor. With a groan I pulled myself up, rubbing my now hurting forehead, looking back at the reason for my fall. My eyes widened as I saw what was lying there. A black furry tail peeked out from under the coffee table. I grabbed it in my hand and looked at it in disbelief. I had no pets...

I shoved the coffee table away in a hurry to find out what it was. There I saw a pitch-black dog looking like a wolf lying on the floor. As soon as I removed the coffee table the light from the sun hit its face and with a grumble it slowly woke up. I backed off a little. What was this wolf-dog doing here? Did that man let it in? More importantly, the grumble sounded so weird. Like a human one, as opposed to a dog's grumble. My eyes widened even more and they were about to fall out of their sockets when I heard: "What.. Is it already morning...?" … The dog had spoken... And his voice seemed very familiar...

The dog finally became aware of my presence and it faced my way. Gray eyes looked straight into mine. A silver crescent moon decorated its forehead. My mouth fell open and I found myself gasping for air as I pointed at the dog. "Y-you..." I mumbled. The dog seemed a little confused for a while, but then seemed to understand why I was so shocked. He stood up and looked down on himself. "Ah... you're shocked because of my other form..?" he then said. So it was really him..? "So you're the guy I met yesterday..?" I asked. I heard a chuckle coming from the dog. "I can't stay in my human form forever. This helps me conserve energy. You better get used to it."

I frowned: "What in the world are you..?" The dog-man or human-dog, or whatever I should call it grumbled again. "Hmph. Now you are interested in who I am? It didn't seem to be the case yesterday night." he said, while walking away. "Wh-what?" I asked in confusion. What happened yesterday night? "I had explained the whole thing to you, just to find out that you had fallen asleep, I don't know how long ago." That made me feel strangely embarrassed. "R-really..? My bad." I apologized with a sheepish laugh. After a little while however something appeared to me. "Wait what? Why am I apologizing! You stripped me yesterday night didn't you!" I accused him, blushing partly from embarrassment, partly from anger.

"Well I couldn't let you sleep in those uncomfortable clothes, right?" he simply retorted. He walked towards the kitchen and started rummaging through the fridge, sticking his head into the fridge. "H-hey. Don't just open up other people's fridges." I got up quickly and pushed the dog away and closed the fridge. "Don't be so stingy, I am hungry." he complained. "Well just say so. I'll fix you something, but don't just rummage through it. It's not like you're at home." I nagged. "Who says that? My intention is to stay here for a while, though." he said in a matter of fact manner.

"Whaaaat?" I yelled out as I turned around. I had just started to grab eggs and butter so I could fry some eggs. "Why would I let you stay here?" I asked him. "Because I am going to be your mentor for the coming time." he then answered. I put the eggs in a small bowl on the kitchen counter so they wouldn't roll off. I turned to face the dog again: "Mentor..?" I asked. "Mentor for what? What are you going to teach me?" I asked. The dog looked up at me and in all seriousness said: "I am going to teach you how to become a soldier." I just stared at him in disbelief...

–

"Let me introduce you to the new addition to our class." the teacher introduced, after having written my name on the white board. "This is the new transfer student and she moved to Tokyo just a week ago." with a smile she turned to look up at me. I was at least 20 cm taller than her, even though she was wearing heels. "Go ahead and tell them your name." she softly suggested to me. I nodded and faced the class. I bowed slightly, placing a hand on my shirt near the neck, to make sure that the shirt of my uniform would stay in place, so my cleavage wouldn't show as I bowed.

"My name is Hakuba Sofia and I am 17 years old. Nice to meet everyone." I said with a smile. I felt the stares of the students all on me. I felt a bit like a freak show and the whispers of the students weren't making things any better. "Wow, she's huge.." someone whispered. Another student said: "How tall do you think she is..?" Yet another student said: "Wow, check out those legs..." I looked over all the faces.

This has happened so many times already, it was getting old. The gawking, the whispering, the shock... But then a certain person caught my eye. He was staring out of the window with a bored facial expression, not paying any attention to me. That left a deep impression on me as I continued staring at him. He had short black hair. His hair was as silky as a certain other black-haired guy. His eyes however weren't gray as _his._ His eyes were blue-green. The color of the ocean.

"Alright Hakuba-san. You can take any seat you'd like, so go ahead so we can start class, alright?" the teacher kindly suggested. I nodded and went straight for the free seat next to the blue-green eyed boy. As I sat down I looked at him. When he noticed I was sitting next to him he glanced at me for a small while. I smiled when he did, but he looked away again. "My name is Hakuba Sofia, nice to meet you." I introduce myself. "I already know that." He simply responds, not even looking at me. I grin. What a nice guy... "Sure you do. So what's yours?" I ask, being a little persistent. He finally turns to look at me slightly, still staring at me with those indifferent eyes. He pauses a little before finally answering: "Aikawa Tooru." He says. I smile again. "I see. Nice to meet you Aikawa-kun."

That's the last thing I said before finally paying attention to the class that had started a while ago...

Although I say that, but that was far from the truth. I couldn't focus on the class at all. My thoughts kept going back to the conversation I had with the black-haired, black-furred wolfdog-man person this morning. I am still not sure what he is, but I now at least know his name. His name strangely suited him: 'Cerberus.' He said he would be my mentor, I guess that is what he meant by 'you're going to have to do as I say.' That was a little more harmless than I initially thought. The problematic part was that he was going to teach me how to become a soldier.

Thinking back, it is such a weird way of saying that. Usually you train soldiers and soldiers didn't train one-on-one with a mentor. They usually trained with dozens of other soldiers. But I hadn't thought that far ahead.

What I asked about was who I was going to fight and who I was going to fight for...

" _I can't tell you yet..." he simply said. I was munching on a piece of toast with fried egg on top. I was about to protest but he continued speaking: "But the ones you'll be fighting are the ones that went after you yesterday." he said. I stopped eating and the morsel of food stayed in my mouth. I couldn't bring myself to swallow the food as I thought back to what I went through yesterday. I eventually continued to chew soon after and swallowed the food and took a sip of my coffee. "Why were they after my life, is there a chance you know anything about that?" I asked staring at the dog's gray eyes. He avoided my gaze and didn't answer for a while. I patiently waited for his answer, anyway._

" _I can't tell you that either, but to protect yourself - and others in your position - you will have to train under me." he avoided my question yet again. "Why the secrecy? If I am going to train under you anyway wouldn't it be better if you threw everything out in the open? You make it difficult for me to trust you like this and your secrecy shows you don't trust me yet either." I commented. The dog chuckled. "You have a point..." He walked away from the table and looked out the window again. I guess it was a habit of his, he did this yesterday as well._

" _It's not like I don't trust you... Sofia." this was the first time he said my name. It felt a little strange that he called me by my first name. I wasn't used to Japanese-speaking people overcoming that hurdle of calling someone by their first name so fast. "Then why all this secrecy?" I asked from behind the dining table, holding the cup of coffee to my mouth._

 _He turned his head to face me. "To test the waters..." he merely said. I was about to take another sip of my coffee, but stopped halfway through. "What do you mean test the waters..?" an eyebrow cocked up. "I have to see whether you can handle this..." he turned his head to the window again and continued to look at the horizon. It was a bright morning sky. "I don't want you to know everything. Knowing everything does not change a thing at this point. It might discourage you or even worse: you might fall into despair, because you might see this as a hurdle you can't overcome." I rolled my eyes. "That's some trust you have in me..." I finally put my cup of coffee on the table and walked towards the black dog. Once I stood next to him I copied him, staring out of the window as well._

" _Then tell me this-" I said. "why me? You could've just saved me and went on with your quest." I continued. I turned my head towards him abruptly and went to my knees to be on the same eye-level as him. "Why are you involving me in this if you're afraid I can't handle it..?" I asked him. Another silence... He took his time thinking of the answer. He seemed to open his mouth to tell me the answer. He paused however. Eventually he closed his eyes and sighed. He faced me again: "There's no time to be picky. I'll make you into a soldier no matter what. I'll try to make you at least strong enough so you can survive their attacks when they come for you... Until we find ourselves potential comrades to join the cause... Then you're allowed to retire, before then... I'll need you." he finally confessed._

 _I stared into his gray eyes looking for the truth, but he averted them. That surprised me. This was the first time he showed uncertainty. Even though his explanation sounded plausible. Maybe there's a dead-line I'm not seeing, because I have no idea who our enemy is and what they're planning next. So why does it seem like he's lying?_

 _I had many questions that were left unanswered, but I decided to let him off the hook. I chuckled as I stood up and turned around to walk away. "I guess you really like a challenge. Choosing a young girl to turn into a soldier to face an army of professional military-men." He returned the chuckle. "I guess you could say that."_

It's weird, isn't it? Obviously he saw something in me but felt it wasn't the time to tell me yet. Like a good mentor he probably is waiting for me to experience whatever it is I have to learn, before explaining it to me. That way I remember the lesson better. So what is it that I have, others don't that made him reveal so much about himself. He even revealed a weakness about himself: _"I can't stay in my human form forever. This helps me conserve energy…"_ He's either very confident that I won't be able to harm him or he has started to trust me. Or maybe he did it to win my trust.

No matter how long I think or speculate about this I won't find answers right now. All I know is that my life is about to change tremendously…


	3. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

"Please study until page 35 by next lesson. Class dismissed." Those were the final words of the teacher who taught Japanese literature. That also concluded the first school day for me at Juuban High School. I was packing my books into my bag as quickly as I could. I wanted to go home as soon as possible, I had plenty to do. I had to do the laundry, cook dinner and there was also that thing with Cerberus.

I hurried towards the door, not greeting anyone. I did not do that on purpose, but I was that much in a hurry. With quick steps I walked through the halls of the school, trying my hardest to avoid bumping into anyone. I turned around the corner at the end of the hall. That's where I bumped into something. Or someone.

I heard the sound of books and notebooks hitting the floor, one after the other. I halted and turned around. "Sorry!" I exclaimed as I bowed down quickly to help pick up the books I caused to drop. I bumped into a short girl donning a slightly longer hairstyle than me. She had black hair with a strange blue shine in it. Her eyes were slightly droopy, but very kind and calm. They were a deep azure blue. She wore three blue ear piercings on either earlobe. They stuck out.

As I handed her, her 1st-year physics book she gratefully accepted it as she smiled at me. "Oh you're a 1st-year?" I asked out loud, upon seeing that 1st-year book. "That is alright. I was not paying attention either." She said apologetically. She took the book from me and nodded. "Yes, that is right. I am Mizuno Ami from Class 1-A." She introduced herself.

I gave her a sheepish smile: "no, no, I should've paid more attention." I quickly stood up and took my turn to introduce myself. "I am Hakuba Sofia from class 2-A." "Oh, what a coincidence. Senpai is also from Class A?" she asked surprised. I smiled at her, looking down at her as she was much smaller than me.

I held eye-contact longer than I usually would and somewhere along the line the smile I had, faded. Something about this 1st-year was off. Not only was I perceiving her presence and obvious calm and soothing character, it seemed like I could _feel_ it, as well. She never averted her eyes, no matter how uncomfortable she obviously seemed to feel under my gaze.

Eventually I snapped out of it and put on my poker smile again. "It must be some type of destiny, then… Mizuno Ami." I mysteriously remarked as I walked past her. She turned around and followed me with her eyes. I couldn't see it, but there was a gravity in her gaze, like I had disturbed her with my words. "See ya later, Mizuno." I said, without turning around, waving nonchalantly.

 _Ding dong._ After a short pause a black-haired man with gray eyes showed up on the intercom. "Could you open up, I forgot my entrance pass." Cerberus frowned and stayed silent for a while. He closed his eyes eventually and sighed deeply and turned off the intercom. The automatic glass doors opened up and I quickly went through, with the shopping bags I was carrying in addition to my school bag. I made a stop at the local super market on my way home to buy some groceries.

I walked to the elevator and pushed the button. Luckily the elevator appeared immediately for a change. I was about to go to my floor which was on the 18th. The story as to why I lived in such a luxurious place like this on my own, even though I am only a high-schooler is a story for another time.

When I arrived at my door I grabbed my keys to open the door to my apartment. Once in the hallway of my apartment I put the heavy bags down and sat down to take off my shoes. I let out a big sigh. I still had to make dinner, clean around the house. I was badly craving a hot shower too. The laundry had been piling up since the day I moved in, which was a week ago. I left that off while unpacking all of my belongings. I really needed to get to it.

While I was thinking of the huge list of things I still had to do I heard footsteps. Human ones, of course. Cerberus obviously transformed back to his human form. His footsteps stopped right behind me. He dropped something on the floor. It sounded like plastic. I looked at my side and saw it was my pass he threw at me. I looked up at him to see what his deal was. He could've just given it to me like a normal person.

"You think it makes sense to forget your own entrance pass?" he coldly asked. The way he looked down at me had a feel of superiority and arrogance. It ticked me off. "I guess I didn't think it was that important... Since I knew someone would be here to open up for me." I answered, maintaining eye-contact with him. He let his cold angry gaze linger on me for a while, before he turned around and left wordlessly.

I had secretly hoped he would help me with the groceries here, but I guess that was too much to ask. I carried the groceries all the way to my kitchen and put the bags on the countertop. I'd make dinner first. I was starving. What should I make, though? It should be something quick and simple. I rummaged through the bags, hoping to get some inspiration. I grabbed a potato, an onion, a carrot and the chicken breasts I bought from the butcher's shop. I had the ingredients for a curry. Curry rice, it is. I also grabbed a curry sauce mix from one of the bags and left the needed ingredients on the counter top.

All the other groceries I stowed away as quickly as I could. After I washed the chicken breasts, I cut them in bite-sized pieces. I grabbed a pan and put it on the stove, turning the latter on. I put two tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Afterwards I quickly peeled the onion and started cutting it in long wedges.

While I was cutting the onions I was thinking I hadn't heard from Cerberus in a while. That's when I saw him walk out of my bedroom. He had put on his long leather coat and was walking towards the hall, stopping right by the entrance to the kitchen. He stared at me for a while.

"What are you doing?" he asked. The tone with which he asked the question didn't sound like he was genuinely curious. Rather, it sounded like he was outraged at the fact that I was cooking. I finished cutting the onion and put them in the pan together with the chicken. I decided to give him my attention after I was done with this. With a sizzle the chicken and onion started to cook. I quickly sprinkled some salt over it and put a lid on the pan.

I was about to peel the carrot when I felt a cold hand grabbing my left wrist. Hard. It shocked me, but before I could protest I was aggressively turned away from the countertop, forced to face my aggressor. It was none other than Cerberus, of course. "What's your deal?!" I yelled angrily. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked me, his tone calm-sounding, but I could see the fury in his eyes. His grip around my wrist was not getting any gentler. I was too angry to notice, however.

"I am starving, so I am making curry." I mustered all my patience to spell this obvious fact out to him. "And why are you making curry, like you have all the time in the world, is what I am asking." He bowed down a little to be on the same height as me. His face way too close to mine for comfort. "So you're saying I should starve instead?" I asked not wavering, not allowing him to intimidate me. "I am saying why didn't you order something quickly so we could get to our training. It's enough that you have to waste your time in school, because you're a minor. We have no more time to waste than this!"

He pulled me away, dragging me out of the kitchen. I tried to resist, but he was obviously stronger than me. He had superhuman strength. "Let go!" I hissed through gritted teeth, while trying to pull my wrist out of his grip. "You're coming with me." He halted and turned around and glared at me in the most threatening way I ever saw someone glare. "Now." He added eerily soft at the end.

No matter how threatening or scary he was trying to be, I couldn't leave the pan on the stove. My place would burn down in a matter of hours. Also, I was not going to waste my money on take-out. I was living on an inheritance and I didn't want to waste all that money on food and non-sense. By the way. If he thought I was wasting time in school why didn't he cook me something, while I was away?!

Seeing as pulling my arm wasn't going to work, I kicked his shin to distract him. I didn't think it would hurt him, but to my surprise it did. He let go of my wrist. I used my regained freedom to walk towards him. I was so angry I smacked him right on his left cheek. There was a small pause of silence between us two.

He obviously couldn't believe what just happened to him as he remained in the position I rendered him in. With the force of my slap I had turned his face showing me his profile. I just angrily looked at the cheek that was slowly turning red, not giving a damn about how he felt or what he was thinking at the moment.

"Cut it out!" I shouted. "I just came home from school and I am starving. I am not ordering take-out, because it's a waste of money and because I already did the groceries. I am making curry rice right now, whether you like it or not. If you wanted me to not waste time on cooking and doing the groceries, then you do that while I am not at home! What have you been doing the whole day, huh?!"

He just stood there, not moving. His face still in the same position after I slapped him. He slowly put a hand on the red spot on his left cheek. Well, I wasn't going to wait for him to react. I turned around and went back to cooking, since I believed I had made myself clear enough. I quickly checked on the chicken and onion to see whether they hadn't burned in the meantime, but luckily they had not. I would have to hurry up with the carrots and potato, though. I went right back to it.

"The enemy is on the move. They have set their eyes on the next target. They sent a team of 3 soldiers this time to take them out." Cerberus finally said. I had just started to cut the carrots when he said that. I immediately froze. Was that why he was so agitated? That he felt that there was no time to waste? Guilt washed over me. But wait! If the enemy was on the move he could simple go and rescue whoever it is that needs rescuing, just like he did with me. I immediately said that.

"Then it should be enough if you go alone, right. If it's rescuing someone, it's better you go alone. You're strong and powerful. Not even a bullet can stop you, whereas I need protecting everywhere I go. A bullet could kill me." I looked at the sharp knife I held in my hand. I held it up and turned to face him. "Even this puny knife could kill me."

Somehow my words agitated him again. He turned around abruptly. "That's why I need you to come with me and train!" He shouted for the first time this evening. This time it gave me a scare. I had never heard him shout until now. "H-how is that going to help that person who's being targeted right now..?" this time my protest was more timid than before. "It isn't." he said with determination. My eyes widened with shock.

"So you're just going to leave them to die?" I asked in disbelief. He looked down. Seemingly in shame. "Yeah." He simply answered. I didn't know what to say to that and just gawked at him in disbelief. He seemed to lose his patience more and more with every second we wasted on this discussion. In frustration he took two big steps towards me and grabbed my shoulder. "Which is why I need you to come with me and start training as soon as possible."

"Hold on! Why aren't you going to save them yourself?" I asked in confusion. "If you know they're being targeted now, leaving them to die to train me seems poi-", before I could finish my point he cut me off speaking with such intense fury and frustration: "BECAUSE THAT PERSON WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST!" I felt a shockwave of some sorts emitting from him for a short moment. The pan that was on the stove flew away and hit the wall, its content spilling over the floor. With a pang the lid fell on the floor as well. The chopping board landed on the floor with a loud sound as well, the cut carrots scattered around the countertop and kitchenfloor. The fridge was pushed to stand on one side and almost fell over completely, but it fell back on its place with a loud thud. I could hear the contents of the fridge scrambling around with the sudden and biggen movement. The kitchen was in chaos in a matter of a second.

But that was the last thing I was worrying about. I slowly put a hand in front of my mouth, restraining a gasp. "There are so many people being targeted by that organization that I can't keep up. I have been fighting them alone for years now and I can only blame my negligence and arrogance that I let them grow this powerful before gathering allies… Before I knew it, their operations spanned the entire globe." he suddenly started to explain himself, looking down, avoiding eye contact.

"She will not be the first person I failed to save, nor will she be the last, nor will she be the only one." I couldn't believe my ears. So there were more people being attacked by random military-men, just like I was? And even worse. They have operations outside of Japan?! More people went through that horrible experience, not even knowing why they were being targeted? Dead-silence settled between us. I didn't know how to reply, but there was one question lingering on my mind…

"W.." I almost forgot how to speak. Cerberus looked me in the eyes, I couldn't focus my sight, however. I was so in shock I just stared at a random spot in space. "Wh-who is the target…? Do you have a name?" I asked. He averted his eyes again. "What does it matter, you won't be able to hel-" I grabbed his collar. Not out of aggression or anger, I was more doing it out of desperation. I grabbed him by the collar of his anthracite dress shirt. "Give me a name!" I yelled. He gave me a troubled look, but finally gave in.

"Mizuno..." he started to answer my question. As I heard that last name my eyes and mouth simultaneously flew open. I lost all strength in my body. I slowly let go of his collar. "Ami…" he finished. I dropped to my knees and mumbled, as if in trance: "Mizuno… Ami…"


	4. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

"Mizuno… Ami…" I mumbled as if in trance. I sat on my knees for a while, trying to process all this information. I angrily looked up at Cerberus. "Why?!" I asked. I scrambled back on my feet again. "Why would they go after a first-year high schooler? What is this organization and what do they want?" I asked.

"First-year? Don't tell me… Have you met that girl?" he asked. "Yeah…" I answered. "I just briefly met her in the hallway, but she was a memorable character. She had these large, soothing and calm eyes. She seemed very level-headed for a first-year student too. And meeting her… I felt something weird…" It was Cerberus' turn to look at me in shock.

I felt him grab me by the shoulders again, shaking me. "You felt something? What was that?" he asked frantically. "Calm down!" I protested. "Hurry up, tell me what you felt!" he yelled. "It was her presence… She looked soothing and calm, just like… I guess you could say just like water. But not only that. I strangely felt like she was all those attributes too. As if I was standing next to a small waterfall, yet she was a person…" That rendered Cerberus speechless. Was it that ridiculous what I said?

"Don't tell me… She is.." he turned around all of a sudden, hurriedly. "H-hey!" I yelled. "Where are you going?!" I asked. He halted and looked back at me: "Of all the targets, she is the last person we can leave to die! She is a critical existence that we can't lose!" he explained. "You stay here. This will be a dangerous operation. I'll go alone and make sure she stays alive. You make sure there's food and make the bed. She might not get out of this uninjured. Go get a few first-aid kits from the convenience store, we'll need those." With that he left.

I just stood there baffled… Why was she so important..? Is it maybe because she holds some special power? So powerful I could feel it too? I looked around the kitchen. It was a mess… I saw that the stove was still on and turned it off… Is it really ok for me to stay here and cook food..? I wasn't so sure anymore… I turned off the stove but left my finger on the button and just stared at it, deep in thought. Deeply conflicted. I could be of more use here, but… Somehow I felt I should help, I should go and see at least how Cerberus works… Even I could fight a little, I have a black belt in karate after all…

I started running towards the door. I quickly put on my sneakers and grabbed the entrance pass and my keys and put them in the pockets of my skirt and rushed out the door. At the elevator I frantically pushed the button a few times. "Come on stupid elevator… Hurry up!" I muttered to it.

Once downstairs I ran outside the apartment complex and looked for Cerberus. In the distance I saw silky long black hair flowing in the wind as the owner of that hair was running avoiding all types of pedestrians. I started running after him, trying to catch up. It was an obviously impossible task, since he was taller than me and he obviously had more training than me. I still tried, though.

"Goodbye everyone!" A certain blue-haired, blue-eyed girl waved to a group of girls, who were seemingly her friends. A blonde pig-tailed girl enthusiastically waved back. "See you tomorrow, Ami-chan!" she smiled brightly. A tall brown-haired girl gave a mock salute. "It's about time I go too. See ya everyone, I am going this way." She crossed the street after that announcement. "Bye Mako-chan!" the blonde girl greeted, waving at her back.

The blue-haired girl had started walking already. There were two other girls besides the blonde girl and they were greeting each other too, before parting ways.

The sun was already setting and the streetlights were turning on one by one. The girl was not afraid however, since her route home was through busy main streets with plenty of people on them. Also… she had another reason why she had little to fear. Or so she thought. Never did she expect what was about to happen.

"Um…" someone mumbled behind the girl. "Excuse me…" they said. They tried to get miss Mizuno's attention and they got it. She turned around to see who had approached her. She saw it was a young woman in her twenties. She didn't seem to look Japanese. She had dark skin color, but her eyes were shimmering green like two Peridots. Her hair was black and silky. She had it put in a bun. Also, she was wearing a classic black suit. With a polite smile she approached Mizuno.

"Yes, how can I help you?" Mizuno asked with a friendly smile. "I was wondering if you could tell me where the nearest train station is, I'm afraid I am lost…" she asked with a sheepish smile. "Of course." Mizuno replied. "If you go straight down this road, take the third street to your left and walk straight ahead you'll walk by a highschool called Touban High. You pass that school and the first intersection you see you'll have to take a right. You go straight down that road. At the end of that road you will find the train station."

The green-eyed woman had obvious trouble keeping up. "Ok, so I go down this road, take a third right and then I should walk straight where I'll pass a school called Touban High?" she tried to repeat after Mizuno. "Ah, no… It's the third left, you go straight and then indeed you will pass a school called Touban High." The woman nodded. "Ah the third left, I go straight past Touban High and then..?" Mizuno Ami smiled at the woman waiting for her to continue, but at some point she decided to repeat the whole explanation again.

The third time the woman still did not understand Mizuno's directions. "Shall I walk you to the train station..?" Mizuno finally offered with a troubled smile. The woman felt obviously guilty. "Ah, I can't take you on that offer. It would be enough if you maybe could draw a map for me..?" Mizuno shook her head. "It is alright, it's no trouble. The woman had nothing to reply to that. ".. Then I'll take you up on that offer… Thank you very much!" The woman bowed to Mizuno who felt very awkward that an older lady was bowing to her. "Please, no need to bow. It's no trouble at all."

They finally started walking. "My name is Kuroki Rachel, by the way. What is your name?" the dark-skinned lady introduced herself. "My name is Mizuno Ami, nice to meet you, miss Kuroki." Mizuno stopped to bow politely. Kuroki returned the gesture. "Nice to meet you too, miss Mizuno." They continued walking, while having some small-talk.

"Are you in high school?" Kuroki asked. "Yes, I am a freshman." Mizuno answered. "I see. You must be 16 then." Mizuno nodded. "What about miss Kuroki? What do you work as?" she asked. "I work in a small law firm, I just graduated from law school last year." She explained. "Really? What branch of law do you specialize in?" Mizuno asked. "Insurance law." She answered.

"You seem like a bright young lady. Someone like you must have life already figured out? What are your plans after high school?" Kuroki asked. Mizuno chuckled embarrassedly. "There is no such thing." She humbly replied. "But I am currently thinking of studying medicine." Kuroki nodded. "Would you like to become a doctor?" Mizuno smiled quietly. "Yes…" she answered. "My mother is a doctor and even though she's hardly at home… I remember one time when I was really little, seeing her working on a patient really hard. He was in so much pain, but she gently treated him and continuously assured him that everything would be alright… That left a big impression on me." Mizuno confessed.

"Hmm… That's great! Your mother must be a wonderful person." Mizuno simply smiled quietly, not replying to that. Miss Kuroki simply remained quiet as well. At some point only the two women's footsteps were heard in the empty street that went past Touban High. The school that was visible from where they stood, looked dark and eerie. Like something from a horror movie.

"By the way, miss Kuroki." Mizuno suddenly broke the silence. Kuroki only hummed as a reply. "When are you going to tell me the truth?" she suddenly confronted as she stopped walking. Kuroki abruptly stopped too. Whether it was an act or not, but Kuroki looked confused. "What do you mean, miss Mizuno?" With calm eyes Mizuno observed Kuroki. "About why you really wanted me to accompany you."

Kuroki looked even more confused. "… All I wanted was to get to the train station…" she remarked.

"If that were your goal then you would have looked at the map I was standing in front of the whole time and take a picture of it. Also, you say you have graduated a year ago and you started to work at the law firm here, yet you didn't ask your colleagues at work to show you the way to the train station?"

Kuroki looked baffled, but soon after she finally dropped the act. She closed her eyes and her polite, innocent look made way for a cold professional stare. She quickly grabbed Mizuno's arm and locked it behind her back. Mizuno didn't see that coming and screamed as she dropped her schoolbag. The other hand Kuroki now used to put on her mouth, so no one would hear Mizuno's screams for help… Although there was no one in the neighborhood to hear it anyway. Just like how she had planned.

"Perry." A muffled male voice suddenly said. "Good job." A man dressed in heavy-duty military gear made his appearance, stepping into the light of the street lantern. He had hidden himself behind the wall of the school, waiting for the right moment to ambush if push came to shove. Turned out that was unnecessary. The woman, the military guy referred to as Perry, seemed to have made a 180 degree turn in personality. She was aloof and didn't even reply to the man praising her.

Instead, she ordered coldly: "tell Taylor to get the minivan." The man seemingly annoyed by her attitude sluggishly turned around and grabbed his walky talky and muttered some commands in it. It took a minute for the man called Taylor to arrive.

"Etou!" Perry suddenly barked. The man who had been zoning out, waiting for the minivan to arrive with her, jumped a little. "Blindfolds and duct-tape. Now." She shot him a deadly glare. Etou quickly blindfolded the girl who had been in Perry's death grip for a while now, continued to shake herself loose. Etou forcefully blindfolded her and as Perry took her hand off the girl's mouth, he quickly taped it shut.

The back door of the minivan opened up abruptly and Perry and Etou quickly carried the girl inside. They drove off with screeching tires.

"Cerberus! Wait!" I shouted. 20 meters in front of me Cerberus was running, not slowing down. I had miraculously closed the distance between us. It had become dark by now. He didn't slow down or wait for me, no matter how many times I asked him. Breathing was starting to hurt, I was pushing myself too hard, trying to keep up with him. How could he run this fast for 20 minutes straight? We almost left the district I live in, which usually takes 5 minutes by train. How fast were we running, really..?

"Do you even know where we're going?!" I yelled out in frustration. That's when Cerberus suddenly stopped. I slowed down as well and jogged the last few meters to catch up. "What's wrong, Cerberus?" Cerberus didn't pay me any attention initially as he was looking intently at a device he had attached on his wrist. It was showing some type of hologram. It was the map of the Juuban district, which was next to Touban. I looked at the same map and found what he was looking at.

A white dot was rapidly moving in our direction. "That white dot, is that..?" I asked. "Why did you follow me?" he asked, slightly absent-mindedly. I wondered what he was thinking. "I… I met that girl for the first time today. I don't want her to go through what I did, she seemed so nice and pure. I would hate it if she got traumatized because of this." I explained. "So you took pity on her?" he asked. He suddenly turned to face the main street. He looked around at the cars that drove by. He then looked at the map on his futuristic hologram screen. And then at the street again.

I followed his movement and his example. I was starting to understand what he was trying to do. Judging by the speed with which the dot moved and assuming it was Mizuno Ami that it was representing, she was moving by car. And the fact that the white dot moved our way meant they'd pass us on this road soon. He was searching for the right car. It would help if we could write down the license plate number.

The white dot was only 10 meters away. 5 meters. 1 meter… I now looked up to see which car passed us by. It was a black van. "License plate number Toukyou A 27-43." I read out loud. Cerberus shot a glance at me. "I know where they're headed." Cerberus said. That shocked me. "How..?" I asked. "Too long to explain. Hail that cab." I quickly did as he said and held out my hand. Once inside the cab Cerberus gave the driver the directions to an abandoned warehouse. The address seemed oddly familiar.

Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring. Click. "Hello, this the Tsukino Residence." A woman with curly black hair picked up the phone with a smile. The smile quickly faded however. "Ami-chan? No, she is not with us… Why, did something happen?" she asked worriedly. "What?" the woman let out a small gasp. "Yes…" she then replied. "Yes… I will contact you as soon as I find out more."

A blonde pig-tailed girl walks into the hallway. "Mama? Who was that?" she asked. "Usagi… Do you know where Ami-chan went, by chance?" she asked her daughter. The girl named Usagi was obviously surprised. "She said she was going home. Why?" she asked her mother. The worried expression on Usagi's moms face worsened. "Mizuno-san, Ami-chan's mother, just called. She said she never came home." Usagi gasped. She suddenly heard a meow. Usagi turned around to look at her black cat. After staring for a while she turned to face her mother again.

"Ami-chan is probably alright, mama. No need to worry about her!" she suddenly started to assure her. "What kind of carefree thing are you saying Usagi… What if something happened to her?" Usagi simply laughed at that. "Maybe she stayed late at Mako-chans house. I'll go make a call, okay? I am pretty sure she's fine." Usagi said again. "You think so..?" Her mother was obviously not reassured. "Don't worry, don't worry." Usagi started to yawn and pretended to go off to bed. "Good night!" Her mother hesitantly wished Usagi the same, but she couldn't shake the bad feeling she had.

Once upstairs in her room, Usagi shut the door quickly. "Luna…" she looked worriedly at the black cat. She had a golden crescent moon on her forehead. "Is it a new enemy, you think.." Usagi asked. The cat spoke and replied: "I don't know. I haven't felt the presence of an enemy, nor did I notice any suspicious activity, lately. But we need to quickly contact the others and find her as soon as possible, I have a bad feeling about this…" the cat spoke in a female voice. Usagi nodded.

Usagi held her hand up and yelled: "Moon Eternal Power.. make up!" that's when she started to transform. Her pink pajamas made way for a sailor suit with a frilly yellow skirt, with a dark blue underskirt and underneath that a red underskirt. Two huge fake wings decorated her back. The same golden crescent moon the cat had, appeared on her forehead as well. She turned the lights off in her room and climbed out of the window, jumping on to the street.

She held her hand open and out of a golden light that appeared in her palm out of nowhere a golden watch appeared in her hand. She clicked the lid open and started speaking into it. "Everyone! We have a problem." Usagi said. A sleepy voice replied: "What is it..?" it was the same voice of the brown-haired girl from earlier today. "Ami-chan has disappeared. Her mother called my mother just now to see where she was. Luna also has a bad feeling about this…" Usagi explained.

A gasp from the other side was heard. "Where are you now, Sailor Moon?" a voice asked. "I am going to the spot where we parted ways today. I'll see you there!" Another voice spoke through the intercom all of a sudden, this time male: "Your friend Mizuno Ami, also known as Sailor Mercury is at the abandoned warehouse at the outskirt of Touban District. I'll send the coordinates to Artemis." Sailor Moon stopped dead in her tracks. "Who are you?!" she quickly asked.

Luna was shocked. "How is it possible… No one should be able to use this frequency or even know this frequency…" The male voice replied: "there's no time to explain, we have to save her quickly."

In a dark abandoned warehouse, a sole girl with black hair and 3 blue ear piercings in each ear, dressed in a sailor school uniform, sat in a chair, tied to it with ropes. She had lost consciousness. The area around her mouth was red. They had pulled off the duct-tape.

Next to her stood a man in a gray suit. He had platinum-blonde hair combed back neatly with a side-part. His eyes were a harsh steel-blue. He held a familiar gold watch as he spoke into it: "if we don't go to that warehouse and save her… she'll die…" An eerie smile sneaked upon his face as he said those words…


End file.
